Moran Bercovici is Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and heads the Microfluidic Technologies Laboratory (http://microfluidics.technion.ac.il). His research combines experimental, analytical, and computational tools to study microfluidic problems characterized by coupling between fluid mechanics, heat transfer, electric fields, chemical reactions, and biological processes. A central theme in his lab is the development of novel microfluidic techniques, devices, and assays for clinical applications and for research in life and medical sciences. He received his BSc (2001) and MSc (2006) from the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Technion. Between 2001 and 2006 he was a Research Engineer at RAFAEL – Advanced Defense Systems, working on experimental and computational aerodynamics. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University (2011), and spent a short postdoctoral period in the Department of Urology at Stanford School of Medicine before joining Technion. He is the recipient of the 2015 ERC starting award from the European Research Council, the Krill Prize for Excellence in Scientific Research from the Wolf Foundation, and the Yanai Prize for Excellence in Academic Education.

The ability to manipulate fluids at the microscale is a key element of any lab-on-a-chip platform, enabling core functionalities such as liquid mixing, splitting and transport of molecules and particles. Lab-on-a-chip devices are commonly divided in two main families: continuous phase devices, and discrete phase (droplets) devices. While a large number of mechanisms are available for precise control of droplets on a large scale, microscale control of continuous phases remains a substantial challenge. In a traditional continuous-flow microfluidic device, fluids are pumped actively (e.g. by pressure gradients, electro-osmotic flow) or passively (e.g. capillary driven) through a fixed microfluidic network, making the device geometry and functionality intimately dependent on one another (e.g. DLD, inertial mixer, H-separator, etc.). The advent of on-chip microfluidic valves brought more flexibility in routing fluids through microfluidic networks, adding a dynamic dimension to the static geometrical network. However, the number of degrees of freedom of valve-based systems is restricted by their dependence on bulky pneumatic lines (regulators, pressure systems, controllers), which are difficult to scale down in size and cost. In this talk I will present our ongoing work leveraging non-uniform EOF and thermocapillary flows to control flow patterns in microfluidic chambers. By setting the spatial distribution of surface potential or a spatial temperature distribution, we demonstrate the ability to dictate desired flow patterns without the use of physical walls. We believe that such flow control concepts will help break the existing link between geometry and functionality, bringing new capabilities to on-chip analytical methods.

Add to Calendar ▼2018-06-05 00:00:002018-06-06 00:00:00Europe/LondonLab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2018Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics Europe 2018 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com